New State Park Trail to honor Chinese Immigrants

By Douglas Hsia
It was a beautiful day on the tenth day of Chinese New Year, a sizeable crowd of guests and California State Park colleagues congregated at Henningsen Lotus Park in Lotus. They were waiting for the dedication and cutting ceremony of the Gam Saan Trail. A trail that leads from Lotus to Coloma, the Marshall Gold Discovery Park. Gam Saan means Gold Mountain in Chinese. A Chinese name was adopted because there were Chinese burial sites found on the slope of the hill leading to the American River. That was the way the spirit of the dead flowing down, following the river and eventually crossed the ocean to reach its home.

Douglas Hsia of CACS saw its significance and banded CACS with Locke Foundation and the Chinese Benevolent Association of Stockton together to petition to the State Park, to give it a name that would commemorate the Chinese pioneer miners. The State Park totally resonated with the idea and the name Gam Saan was adopted. It was the first Chinese name adopted under the jurisdiction of State Park.

The Venerable Ru Hsian led a Zen Buddhist Ceremony. The smooth sound of chanting was to cleanse the ambient and calm the spirit. During the speech session, the director of the State Park, Armando Quintero, the superintendent Barry Smith and the supervisor Steve Hilton of the State Park reminded the audience that the planning of the trail took fifteen years because there were so many artifacts buried in the slope. They were so happy to see it all came together. It brought neglected narrative back to the public, a beautiful diverse fabric of our State is woven.

Representatives of the three Chinese organizations Douglas Hsia, Bennie Mar, Honey Lum and Brenda Fong took turn to share with the audience: the auspicious, historic value and their Chinese American experience in relation to this historic occasion. America is the only home many Chinese American know and home should bear our name plate. We thank State Park for giving us a name plate in our home.

When the ribbon was cut, drums rolled, gongs banged against a backdrop of flying banners, a group of colorful lions unleashed their dance, bringing the spirit of the occasion to a new level.

The event was then shifted to Coloma Marshall Gold Discovery Park for a lunch reception. In front of the Chinese Store, Wah Hak, stood the trio of Auburn Joss House Eric Chun. They sent out the sweetest Chinese melody with modern instruments. To complement the packed Chinese delicacies lunch, the renowned Chef David Soohoo volunteered to present a demonstration of jook, a historic staple meal of our pioneer gold miners. The guests got the taste of history in their palette.

CACS being one of the three proud petitioning Chinese organizations, we are thankful to those who made it out here for the historic occasion and those members who came out to help; Franc Martinez, Brenda Fong, Karun Yee, June Fong, and Honey Lum.

Recipes provided by David Soo Ho

Unhulled Long Grain Rice Congee

Chicken Congee

By Brenda Fong
One of CACS’ longtime commitments to our API community is helping school age children through our Care for Kids 2021 Program. We worked in partnership with Kevin Thai, Deputy Director, of the Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center (SCCSC), donating funds to benefit the Centers’ afterschool programs at 4 designated schools in South Sacramento with much-needed school supplies, sporting and playground equipment.

On September 24th, Joyce Eng and I met with Kevin, Shannon Roth, Youth Development Director, David Constancio, Coordinator, and Victoria Todorvitch, Recruitment Manager, to present them with a check for $4,000! This would not have been possible without the generous donations from our community organizations, private donors, and the CACS Foundation.

A big thank you goes to the following donors: Asian Resources, Inc., CAPITAL, Bill Eng, Joyce & Alex Eng, Aubrie Fong, Brenda Fong, Spencer Fong, Roger & Florence Fong, Douglas Hsia, Dr. Dick Huang, General Produce Company, Jeanie Lee, Betty J. Louie, Franc Martinez, Sylvia Minnick, Charlie Moy, Aileen Nitta, County Board Supervisor, Don & Brenda Nottoli, Lonnie Wong, William Wong, Merlayna & Frank Chin, and Karun Yee.

On behalf of our donors and the CACS Foundation, we commend SCCSC (since 1974) for providing assistance to immigrants and refugees, and your continued efforts to assist the children and their families in times of need.

The discovery of Gold in California triggered a mass migration from all over the world that occurred very suddenly. California’s population increased 6-fold in 20 years. Immigrants from China were major contributors to this growth. By 1880, Folsom’s Chinese community was among the largest in the state.

Today, much of this history seems to have been forgotten. Who were these Chinese immigrants? Why did they come to California? How did their descendants become the Chinese American community of today? These are the questions we will be exploring in the future Folsom Chinese Heritage Museum.

Our challenge

Some traditional history museums obsess over “getting the story right”. Our view is that history isn’t just one story. It is the combination of many perspectives. However, much of the historical record from the Gold Rush era comes from an ethically white perspective.

Our approach

Our goal is to show that the Chinese American perspective is equally valid even when it is not as well documented. We intend to offer context. For example, we’ll explore the economic conditions in China at the time of the Gold Rush and why that may have encouraged Chinese immigration to California.

We will also offer stories from the Chinese community in Folsom during the Gold Rush era. Sometimes, where evidence is lacking, these stories may be a combination of fact and conjecture. We’ll present the evidence we have, offer multiple different interpretations, and let our visitors decide what to believe.

Current project status

The museum will be housed in the Chan House at 917 Sutter Street. We are nearly finished with the building restoration. Our next step will be designing the Chinese Garden and the exhibit experience inside the house. This effort has been on hold because of the pandemic. We will be posting updates on our website folsomhistoricalsociety.org as the project continues.

Dear John, Lisa, and the Mann Family

The Chinese American Council of Sacramento extends its deepest sympathies to you at this sad time. We will all miss Ofa very much. She was a pillar of the community, which was very evident in the moving testimonials given in the Memorial.

We are very proud of Ofa and her accomplishments. She will always be remembered for her kindnesses and her leadership. Thank you for sharing this special time with us.

Yours in sadness,

Cathy Wei, president
CACS Foundation

Alex Eng, president
CACS Council

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CACS had to cancel our annual Gold Mountain Celebration on October 9, 2020, due to the pandemic. To keep our tradition alive and carry on our mission to help the community, CACS decided to Feed the community hit hard by the lock down. We were able to donate 400 boxed lunches to local minority groups and charities.

We would like to thank our API partners for their collaborative effort to make our project successful.

• Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center
• My Sister’s House
• Hui o Hawaii
• TOFA
• St. John’s Shelter for Women & Children
• Hmong Youth & Parents United
• Iu-Mein Community Services

CACS would like to thank the donors who support us for the Feed Project. We are very pleased that we distributed 400 lunch boxes to the families in need of the community.

• Dr. Herbert Yee
• ACC Senior Services
• CALIFORNIA NORTHSTATE UNIVERSITY
• Councilman Eric Guerra
• C.A.P.I.T.A.L. (Council of Asian Pacific Islanders Together for Advocacy & Leadership)
• County Supervisor Patrick Kennedy
• Council Member Steven Hansen
• ARI (Asian Resources, Inc)
• Bill Eng
• Florin JACL
• Lonnie Wong
• Ervin Gon
• Jerry Chong
• John and Mary Hughes
• Spencer Fong
• Roger Fong
• Aileen Nitta
• Denise Louie
• Jonathan Canuela
• Lindsey Fong
• June Fong
• Sylvia Minnick

See the video clip from Good Day Sacramento.

Read Sacramento Bee article

Read the article in the Sing Tao Daily

By Honey Lum
As CACS past president I participated since October 2019 as a member of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Sub-committee for Census 2020 in Region 1 (includes 17 counties). The Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) has facilitated these monthly meetings to develop a workplan for the following: outreach, marketing, communications, community collaboration, and other approaches to ensure people are counted. Based on past history, the Census identified two groups – Hmong and Pacific Islanders – as underserved populations and difficult to reach groups.

Due to COVID-19, the Census efforts were extended from July 31 to September 30, 2020. Here are examples of our Census collaboration with the Sacramento community: 1) On April 28th, CACS and five AAPI organizations participated in a Food Give-Away that was hosted by the Stockton Blvd. Partnership Association. Over 350 families benefitted from the “goody” bags filled with food and Census swags. 2) On August 24th, CACS together with JACL and other AAPI groups joined the La Familia Car Caravan. We drove through and did outreach to the economically challenged neighbors near the La Familia Center on 37th Avenue. 3) On September 10th, CACS collaborated with American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and Everyday Impacting Consultants to create and presented a Zoom workshop about Census 2020.
CACS encourages all folks to complete the Census and be counted – Sacramento needs resources to promote healthy communities. Please see this link.

Over 10.2 million California households have responded to the Census – the most of any state. California has most households respond to the Census compared to other states. Of those 10.2 million, nearly 2.4 million are located in the hardest-to-count tracts.
California’s current self-response rate, 67.2%, is above the national average of 64.9%.

By Brenda Fong
We want to introduce you to Ms. Oranit Limmaneerasert. Oranit has been at American River College for almost twenty years and has taught at the University of Hawaii and in Thailand. Since 2017, Professor Limmaneerasert has served as the faculty union president at ARC.

Oranit was born and raised in a very traditional Chinese family in Udonthani, Thailand. She did not arrive in this country until her early thirties. Coming from a very traditional family, Oranit’s mother felt her daughter should prepare for an arranged marriage.
But Oranit worked hard and progressed beyond. She saved money for her undergraduate education, received various scholarships, and taught full time while attending graduate school. See eventually earned her PhD. Oranit says: “My life is a Cinderella story, and I am deeply grateful for it.”

She loves to travel, meeting people from different cultures, and swimming in the ocean.  So far, she has visited over thirty countries.

Oranit first learned about CACS from Honey Lum during last July 4th’s “Golden Spike March” at Dutch Flat, and has worked on a project with Douglas Hsia. With the advocacy work that she has been doing, she decided to join CACS to support our work. Oranit would also like to build a strong relationship between the Asian educators in Sacramento and CACS.
On behalf of our Foundation and the Council, we welcome Oranit Limmaneerasert!

By Douglas Hsia
The federal government has designated the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta a National Heritage area, and the Town of Locke a National Historic Landmark. Locke is the most complete example of a rural agricultural Chinese American community in the US. The primary mission of the Locke Foundation – Oral History Project is to gather and preserve the stories of the Delta. Ultimately these oral histories will be archived in the Locke Boarding House Museum where historians, educators and the public will have access to the information.

This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II. The LF is reaching out to Chinese Americans who served in WWII. These veterans may have the potential to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. If you know of any Chinese American (living or not) who is/was a WWII veteran, please contact the Chinese American WWII Veterans Recognition Project for the application or contact here.

The LF is proud to share the life and times of two WWII veterans as part of the Oral History Project. Both were residents of Locke. Ruth Jang is a rare Chinese American woman who served in the Army Air Force. Harry Jang was a highly decorated Lieutenant in the Army Air Force as a navigator.

CORPORAL RUTH JANG, 97, was definitely a rarity for any branch of the US Military service. In 1943, at 21, Ruth joined the armed forces for duty and adventure. Ruth said that she enjoyed more food than was available to her in Locke and swears that she grew an inch taller.

Her first station was Moody Field, Georgia, where her duties were as a “gopher,” delivering messages by riding a motor scooter. Ruth became the captain of the woman’s basketball team since she was taller than many of the other women players. Being an adventurous pilot took her up in a B25 Bomber dive bombing cows on a farm. She was transferred to Mitchell Field, Long Island, New York where she helped care for injured servicemen. One of her NY assignments was to escort wounded soldiers to free Broadway shows such as Showboat and the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. Although the only Chinese in her unit, she did not experience racism or discrimination. Instead, she felt very special and popular. On weekends she enjoyed going out with her Polish, Jewish and Italian girlfriends, dancing with the servicemen and eating pizza and pickled herring for the first time.

After the war, Ruth fell in love with and married her childhood friend, Harry Jang, also from Locke. She worked with the State of California and the Sacramento Unified School District as a translator and raised three children. At age 56, Ruth earned her AA degree, then a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education and Nutrition. True to her fun-loving nature, she spent her later years playing golf with a handicap of 17.

LIEUTENANT HARRY JANG joined the Army in 1941 just before Pearl Harbor as a private. As a Chinese, he was given a choice of being a cook or a hospital orderly. He picked orderly. He really wanted to be a pilot and had studied two years of Aeronautical Engineering, but realized it was not his strong suit. Harry, being upwardly mobile, then took the exam for officer training and ranked third out of 300 applicants. Unfortunately, he was rejected because of apparent blatant racism. Undeterred, he petitioned the Adjutant (Chief Administrative Officer), who granted him admission to the Air Force.

In 1943, he was commissioned a Lieutenant. As a navigator, he was assigned to the 367 Squadron, 306 Bomb Group in Thurleigh Field, England. His group of fighter planes was famous and suffered the most casualties of the Air Force during the entire war. The movie, “Twelve O’Clock High”, was inspired by his squadron’s valor. Harry was haunted for the rest of his life by what he saw, witnessing American airplanes being hit by anti-aircraft fire, exploding in mid-air, and shot down by German fighter planes. After flying his 35th combat mission, a friend suggested signing up for another combat tour in Asia, but Harry said, “No.” He was happy to be going home. Years later at a reunion he ran into an old cohort. Happy and relieved, he said, “Harry, I thought you died.” Harry’s plane had gone down in flames on its very next mission, along with his friend. Hearing this, Harry felt lucky indeed to have survived. For his courage and exceptional navigational skills under fire, Harry was honored with the Distinguished Flying Cross.

After his distinguished service, Harry graduated with a Master’s degree from UC Berkeley and became an architect. Lieutenant Harry Jang will be posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal as a patriotic and courageous Chinese American. Please see www.locke-foundation.org for more information.

Greetings, Members and Friends of the Chinese American Council of Sacramento!

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the CACS Council and the CACS Foundation, we hope you and your loved ones are safe and well despite this trying time.

As you may have noticed, all public gatherings and events have been cancelled or rescheduled. CACS is cancelling our annual Gold Mountain Celebration dinner, originally scheduled on October 9, 2020. However, to keep our tradition and mission alive, we are going to donate 400 lunch boxes on October 9 instead. A few local nonprofit organizations will help us to distribute the free lunches to people in need.

As always, we welcome your donation and support to complete this project. Here’s a couple of ways to make your tax-deductible donation:

1. Please mail a check to CACS Foundation, P.O. Box 22457, Sacramento, CA 95822
2.  Donate on our website www.CACSweb.org by clicking here.

For more information please contact Karun Yee, CACS Foundation Historical Chair and “Feed” Chair at 916 591-8181 or [email protected]

A very sincere thank you to our generous sponsors and loyal supporters for your past donations and participation! CACS is actively working on ways to carry on our service to the community. We appreciate your continued support.

With Warmest Wishes for Your Health and Safety,

Cathy Wei, CACS Foundation President

Alex Eng, CACS Council President